Never-ending generosity

Fifty years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., St. Jude supporters carry on his legacy of service. ALSAC President and CEO Richard C. Shadyac Jr. reflects on this dedication.

Earlier this month, many of us shared and experienced the impact of a life of service, as we came together around the country to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We paid tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. King by attending commemorative events and by participating in activities that benefited our communities and our fellow citizens in need.

We paused from busy lives to reflect on what it means to fight for social and economic justice and civil rights, but also to live a life that serves others. And I could not help but think how blessed we are at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to see what service to others really looks like each and every day.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was on a tour of the South to recruit volunteers for his "Poor People's Campaign," spoke to an overflow crowd at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., on March 18, 1968. Photo: The Commercial Appeal

That’s because of the incredible donors, supporters and volunteers like you who bring it to life in your embrace of the St. Jude mission: Finding cures. Saving children.®

Dr. King once said that “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’”

All of you answer that question through your actions on behalf of the kids and families who look to St. Jude for the research and treatment that could save their lives.

St. Jude employees and their family members visited sites across Memphis to volunteer for other non-profit organizations during the Martin Luther King Day of Service.

Your decision to support St. Jude means that our scientists have the funds they need to continue research that is leading to better treatments and cures for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Your dedication means we can keep providing the very best in patient care and treatment to some of our sickest and most vulnerable children.

Volunteers at the St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer

And your spirit of generosity gives the families of St. Jude a special gift — the knowledge that they will never receive a bill from St. Jude, not for the treatment their child needs, and not even for travel, housing or food. Because of your actions, families can focus on what matters most — helping their child live.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting St. Jude. Together, we will continue to make a difference as we strive for the day that St. Jude founder Danny Thomas dreamed of — that 'no child should die in the dawn of life.'